Iran"s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian[/caption]Tehran, Jan 21, IRNA Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran is not to participate in the Geneva II Conference because of the US irrational insistence on setting conditions for it.
Talking to IRNA on Tuesday, he said despite Iran?s readiness for unconditional participation in the Geneva 2 talks, the US insisted on setting preconditions for the country.
He added that Washington is insisting in an illogical manner on the need for Iran to accept the preconditions especially regarding issues which only the Syrian nation is to decide on according to the international laws and well-known democratic principles.
Amirabdollahian noted that Iran clearly announced on Monday that it played no role in the Geneva I meeting including the compilation of its final statement.
He said Iran has no urge to participate in the upcoming meeting on Syria.
On Sunday, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Iran had been invited to the Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis.
Iran had previously said that it would not attend the conference if conditions are set for its participation.
On Thursday, the Iranian foreign minister described as unacceptable any preconditions for the Islamic Republics participation in the talks.
The Geneva II conference will kick off in the Swiss city of Montreux on January 22 and then move to the UN headquarters in Geneva on January 24 after a one-day break.
The talks are aimed at finding a political solution to the deadly crisis that has gripped Syria since 2011.
The UN says more than four million Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country that has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions so far.
head of Strategic Research Center of Iran?s Expediency Council Ali-Akbar Velayati too said on Monday Iran will accept no pre-condition for participation in the international conference on Syria.
The very negative point of Geneva-1 statement is that it requires the Syrian legitimate government and the country?s foreign-sponsored terrorists who have committed various crimes against Syrian people to form a transitional government, Velayati said.
He added that Iran never accepts Geneva I statement and believes that as long as the upcoming conference on Syria is based on that statement, Iran will not accept it as legitimate.
By IRNA
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
